“Playing Ball With My Friend Sanya”

32’ x 20’ x 29’

2023

From February 24th, 2022 when the full-scale invasion by the Russian forces began in Ukraine, I have been closely in touch with a childhood friend, Sasha Cherednyk. Sasha is in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since that winter day, we have been fundraising together to help him with things like a car, repairs for the car, army helmets, bullet proof vest and more. This piece is a sculpture that incompses those things; fundraising and our childhood together in Ukraine. I raised money in America for Sasha, and in return he sent me this Artillery crate from a 125 mm D-81 Tank Round, used by the Ukrainian Army. Thinking about playing and our long days on our block where we grew up, kicking around the ball and pretending we were in the Ukrainian National Football Team, Dynamo Kyiv. In this piece, that naive childhood activity is dampened by war. By placing the artillery caliber decal on the earthenware balls, we are no longer playing a game. My games with Sasha in the early 1990’s are not the same games the kids of Ukraine play today. This sculpture helped me process that. And helped Sasha fix his damn transmission.